He needs little red or orange crocs!! Love the whole "little chef" thing!...you are earning brownie points!
How about a small "picnic-ish" basket?
Linda C

You could also use a basket to pack it in, one that the little one could use to bring his baked goods somewhere. I love spending money for someone else, have you thought of adding a cookbook? Lots of good ones for beginners.

Some ideas here.

dcarch

Here is a link that might be useful: Born to cook

Add some cute little cake pans, if you can find them. That's what I started with when I was four or five. I loved making little cakes.

Lars

King Arthur Flour has some fun stuff for kids.

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: King Arthur For Kids

Linda, I hadn't thought of a picnic basket. I certainly have plenty of baskets, so I probably won't even have to shop for one. Good idea.

Eandhl, I'm also making a book for them of my favorite recipes, many which come from the cooking forum! I've included some kid-friendly versions and am looking forward to sharing some cooking time.

Dcarch and Tricia, thanks for the links. After looking them over, I feel like I'm on the right track, which is comforting.

Lars, I know right where to go! I'm seeing a Goldilocks springform pan in the future.

OK, here's a question I forgot to ask and need help with. Little Chef has a two year old brother I don't want to forget about. All I know about him is that he likes carbs! Do you have any other ideas for me?

Linda, I hadn't thought of a picnic basket. I certainly have plenty of baskets, so I probably won't even have to shop for one. Good idea.

Eandhl, I'm also making a book for them of my favorite recipes, many which come from the cooking forum! I've included some kid-friendly versions and am looking forward to sharing some cooking time.

Dcarch and Tricia, thanks for the links. After looking them over, I feel like I'm on the right track, which is comforting.

Lars, I know right where to go! I'm seeing a Goldilocks springform pan in the future.

OK, here's a question I forgot to ask and need help with. Little Chef has a two year old brother I don't want to forget about. All I know about him is that he likes carbs! Do you have any other ideas for me?

Oh boy, are you having fun? This is right up your alley.

Cathy, I was, until I got stuck on what to get a two year old! Do you have any ideas for me? I need some!

I have a seven year old niece who loves to help me in the kitchen. One thing she insists on while helping is wearing a chef hat. (I have a couple.) Most of them have a velcro-adjustable headband so it can fit even small heads.

A uniform shop will often have these items fairly cheaply.

Here is a link that might be useful: chef hats

Pack it all in a colander!! Basket wrap with a big bow for "presentation".

Hmmm...for the 2 year old, I wouldn't encourage that Carb thing too much. Could turn into a life-long bad habit!! :)

Is there any way to find out more information?
Otherwise, I think I'd tend toward "entertainment". Movies, books, puzzles, games that are age appropriate.

Sounds like a fun project!

Deanna

Thanks all for your suggestions. I have almost finished up my ''basket'', which turned out to be one of those small dishpans (blueberry colored) from the dollar store (because you know, cleanup is part of the deal.) Everything just fits in, it's packed tight and looks really interesting because there are all kinds of primary colors peeking through. While I was out, I found a ''quick draw'' pepper holster which I had to have. Fortunately for me, there was a kid sized pepper mill to put in it, so he can wear it on his belt and give everything an little spice. I also found a silicone trivet which will grip his pots/bowls, and double as lid for all three pieces on the stove. The apron came from the craft store and Arley, I saw the chef's hat there, but decided to save it for next year, along with the springform pan. (The kid should have something to look forward to...or maybe that's really me who needs to, and I can't fit anymore in!) I tucked in some paper liners for the little muffin tin, so cleanup won't be a chore, some dry/liquid measuring cups. The only thing I'm really missing is a timer, which I'll be sure to include. After all, we need to know how long to cook/bake things! I also picked up a colorful popcorn bucket which is the right size for all the utensils, so they have their own ''storage'' container. This will give him a good start, and he'll have most everything he needs to measure and stir, cook and bake.

Deanna, I hear you about the carb thing! For the two year old, I found a toy cordless phone that included a handset/base. You can record your own messages on it, so I thought that would be fun for all of us to do. He can hear from all of us anytime he wants, and learn his numbers at the same time. Doesn't every kid need to know how to dial his own phone number/911 (on his own phone of course?) I will say...two years old is kind of hard to figure out!

Claire, I'm glad you had fun with it and sure sounds like you did a great job, and already have plans for next year. By next year he should be ready for a couple of small scoops for cookie dough. They can be a little hard to work but by then he should be right for them. They do love the chef hats and you can even make it a tradition to give a new apron each year. I gave Christy's great nieces matching aprons and hats. One got pink and one got purple, so they come in all colors. Have fun!!

Coconut-nj, what a great idea! I think I'm going to make a note to myself for next year and include some cookie scoops with the other things. (Funny you should mention that, since I already had plans to take my scoops and make cookies with him.) What's so nice about this is already having a list, so I won't have to think about it. I found my small berry colander that folds flat, and think the suggestions of a colander are good, so I'll pick one of those up for next year too. I'm hoping he has a good time with this and will think adding to his stash is a good idea!

Claire, what a sweet and thoughtful thing you're doing. Tell us more about how you are coming together with your new "friend"!

And thanks, you have given me great ideas for DGS's birthday present!

Oh good! (I'm always happy to share a "good idea"!)

We are meeting my niece and her family for a week at a beach house I found on the Outer Banks. It's been years since I've seen her, and I've never met her family. It's an "in-between" location (closer to her, but one I want to visit) and if it goes well, has the possibility of turning into a regular thing. I'm really looking forward to it.